Pilot Error Blamed for Crash That Killed Troy Gentry

The National Transportation Safety Board has concluded that pilot error led to the helicopter crash that killed Montgomery Gentry’s Troy Gentry in September 2017. There was another contributing factor, as well.

Gentry and the pilot were in the helicopter when it crashed near the Flying W Airport & Resort in Medford, N.J., on Sept. 8. Montgomery Gentry had a show scheduled that night, and Gentry was taking a pleasure and sightseeing ride in the chopper. Soon after takeoff, the pilot reported that he was not able to control engine RPM.

The report states that the pilot's "early entry into and failure to maintain rotor rpm during a forced landing autorotation after performing an engine shutdown in flight, which resulted in an uncontrolled descent." (per the Tennessean)

Additionally, maintenance personnel's failure to properly rig the throttle control tie-rod assembly contributed to the crash. Both men on board the chopper were killed.

Watch Eddie Montgomery Open Up About Losing Troy Gentry

After several months off, Gentry's longtime bandmate Eddie Montgomery would release the new album he'd been working on with his partner and return to the road. At the time of the crash, Montgomery was back at the airport, waiting for the helicopter to return, but he's never said publicly if he witnessed the crash.

Gentry is survived by his wife and two daughters. On January 9, the Troy Gentry Foundation will launch with a show at the Grand Ole Opry.